Reconstructing N: A New Approach to Measuring Emotional Sensitivity

Neuroticism (N) assesses emotional sensitivity or lability, but the construct is poorly defined and instruments used to assess N are marred by a number of psychometric shortcomings. Neuroticism is also described in an overtly pejorative way, with items keyed for themes reflecting low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. The present paper presents a revised model based on a new questionnaire entitled the Emotional Sensitivity Scale (ESS). Using an innovative scenario technique to generate items, exploratory factor analysis of the responses of 242 participants yielded orthogonal dimensions for positive (other-oriented) and negative (self-centered) emotional sensitivity, and the structure was confirmed using confirmatory factor analysis. Validation studies showed that the ESS dimensions were related in systematic ways to related psychometric instruments and that, as predicted, participants scoring high on the positive dimension were better able to recognize displayed emotions. The new scale offers a basis for extending the research on emotional sensitivity using empirically discriminable positive and negative components.     

Seemingly Anomalous WISC-IV Full Scale IQ Scores in the American and Canadian Standardization Samples

The American and Canadian standardization samples for the fourth edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children were used to ascertain the prevalence of “seemingly anomalous” Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) scores for all possible sums of scaled scores combinations of the Verbal Comprehension Index, Perceptual Reasoning Index, Working Memory Index, and Processing Speed Index. About 1% of FSIQ scores in both samples were anomalous (that is, fell outside the range of the four indices). Interestingly, the prevalence of anomalous scores was higher at the extremes of the FSIQ distribution. Moreover, anomalous FSIQ scores occurring above or below the mean of the FSIQ distribution (that is, 100) were larger or smaller, respectively, than any of the four indices. Furthermore, if the range of the four indices did contain the FSIQ (the non-anomalous case), when the FSIQ was below or above 100 it tended to be located distally in the half-segment of the range furthest below or above 100, respectively. A non-technical intuitive analogy from Olympic sports and a statistical explanation for the findings are provided. Important implications for practitioners are also presented. Portions of this paper were presented March 17, 2006 at the 20th annual Joseph R. Royce Research Conference, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta.     

Sexual infidelity in a national survey of American women: differences in prevalence and correlates as a function of method of assessment.

The purposes of this study were (a) to estimate the annual prevalence of, and to identify the predictors of, sexual infidelity in a population-based sample of married women (N = 4,884); and (b) to evaluate whether the prevalence and predictors of infidelity varied as a function of whether the assessment of infidelity was based on a face-to-face interview versus a computer-assisted self-interview. Annual prevalence of infidelity was much smaller on the basis of the face-to-face interview (1.08%) than on the computer-assisted self-interview (6.13%). Although many of the predictor variables replicated results from previous studies (e.g., demographic variables, religiosity, sexual experience), findings also indicated that childhood sexual abuse (i.e., forced sex) predicted greater probability of infidelity. Finally, the magnitude of the association with infidelity for 4 of the 9 predictor variables differed between the 2 methods for assessing infidelity. This study's findings underscore the importance of assessing infidelity with methods such as computer-assisted self-interviews that minimize the influence of social desirability and impression management.     

Recovery in memory function, and its relationship to academic success, at 24 months following pediatric TBI.

While a number of research papers have reported findings on memory deficits following traumatic brain injury (TBI), only limited studies have monitored the recovery of these skills over time. The present study examined memory ability and its effect on academic success in a group of children who had sustained a mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Results showed that the severe TBI group exhibited greater deficits on memory tasks, irrespective of modality, in the acute, 6-, 12-, and 24-month postinjury stages, in comparison to mild and moderate TBI groups. Performance on academic measures was dependent on both injury severity and task demands. Preinjury academic ability and verbal memory indices best predicted academic success.     

Church Attendance and Marital Commitment Beliefs of Undergraduate Women

Marital commitment between spouses has been found to be an important predictor of successful marriages. Beliefs about marital commitment among never-married young adults are of interest because of their probable influence on subsequent marital behaviors. The current study examined social-cognitive processes; specifically, religiousness, locus-of-control beliefs, and gender role attitudes, in the prediction of marital commitment beliefs among 294 undergraduate never-married women. We found that higher religiousness and lower chance locus of control were significantly correlated with stronger marital commitment beliefs. Multiple regression analyses revealed that religiousness was the best predictor of marital commitment beliefs in this sample. Social learning processes are implicated in the development of marital commitment beliefs. Implications and limitations of the study are discussed.     

Social Comparison-Based Thoughts in Groups: Their Associations With Interpersonal Trust and Learning Outcomes

This study relates thoughts derived from 4 types of social comparison to trust and individual learning. Our study ( N  = 362 students) showed that upward identification (i.e., believing one is just as good as a better performing teammate) was positively related to trust and individual learning. Upward contrast (i.e., believing one is worse than a better performing group member) was negatively related to learning, as were downward-identifying thoughts (i.e., believing one will perform as badly as a poorly performing teammate). Downward contrast (i.e., thinking one can do much better than the poor performer) was negatively related to trust. We concluded that social comparison-based thoughts are important to consider when designing teamwork because of their constructive and destructive consequences.     

Who Would Claim to Be That,Who Was Not? Evaluations of an Ethnic Validation Procedure

We investigated the fairness implications of a procedure designed to validate ethnic membership. In addition, procedural justifications, or justifications before the procedure were tested as the rationale for the procedure introduced. Of 2 procedural justifications—the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Science Foundation (NSF)—the NSF justification was hypothesized as being perceived as more fair. Results showed that procedures designed to validate ethnic membership were evaluated as unfair under most conditions. Additionally, results indicated that procedural justifications influenced evaluations of the degree of fairness of the procedure. Implications for Lumbee American Indian Federal recognition are discussed.     

Analyzing Additional Variables in the Theory of Reasoned Action

This study examined the convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of several variables proposed to augment the theory of reasoned action (TRA), using both principal components analysis (PCA)/multiple regression and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)/structural equation modeling (SEM) among a sample of the UK population regarding their intention to have a child. PCA revealed good convergent and discriminant validity for attitude vs. anticipated regret, subjective norm vs. moral norm vs. social relations, but not for intention vs. desire or perceived behavioral control. Multiple regression analyses showed that the additional variables predicted a significant increment in the variance in intention. CFA, however, showed moderate convergent validity and poor discriminant validity and the structural model comprised the 2 predictors from the TRA only.     

The Pique Technique: Overcoming Mindlessness or Shifting Heuristics?

An unusual request can increase compliance in situations in which the typical response to the request is refusal. This procedure, called the pique technique, is said to be effective because the unusual request causes people to give mindful consideration to it. We tested this explanation in 2 studies. Passersby were asked for either a common amount of change or 37 cents. Participants who inquired about the unusual amount were given either a specific or an uninformative reason. The pique technique increased compliance, but only when participants stopped to ask about the request. These participants gave more money, regardless of the reason provided. The findings failed to support the notion that an unusual request leads to a mindful consideration of it.     

Role Ambiguity and Intra-Team Communication in Interdependent Sport Teams

This study explored relationships between perceptions of intra-team communication and role ambiguity within an interdependent team sport environment. Participants were 116 intercollegiate-level team sport athletes ( M age = 20.6 years). For males, the intra-team communication dimension of acceptance was found to predict the majority of role ambiguity dimensions for both performance contexts of offense and defense (.09 ≤  R ²_adj. ≤ .16). However, limited support for this relationship was found for females, as acceptance communication predicted only one role ambiguity dimension (evaluation of role performance on defense). These findings have implications for applied practice in terms of reducing group members' perceptions of role ambiguity in interdependent team sport.